40: November, 2007

When he's not having long, philosophical discussions with his daughter, Eric Elkins generates innovative marketing and revenue models and executes them while building combination online and real-world communities. He has a master's degre...

It's actually late October, and I'm flying from Denver to Dulles, the first leg in a long journey to Budapest. My friend Ean is flying first class, and he paid a visit to steerage in order to tell me that our next leg, Washington to Frankfurt, is scheduled to take off 10 minutes before we're scheduled to arrive. He said the pilot is going to let the folks in Washington know we're on the way. I'm not going to worry too much about it. We'll get to Hungary when we get there.

He also gave me his complimentary bloody mary.

I drank it while digging through a United "SnackPack," which is actually better than it sounds. In fact, I think it's the best thing I've eaten on a domestic trip since the last time I brought my own Chipotle burrito on board. For five bucks, I got a tin of tuna, a jar of passable hummus, crackers, a slice of cheese, pita chips, raisins, and even a tiny Toblerone.So I'm sitting here, waiting for the line to the bathroom to dissipate, and feeling pretty good about things. I mean, my life is freaking amazing, and it's only gotten better and better in the last five years.

Which is a good way to feel, at my age.

Yeah. My age. I turned 40 at the beginning of October. And though the fanfare was gratifying (my mom and sisters came to visit; we had a massive, roving party; my new co-workers dressed in black and gave me a cake; I didn't sleep more than 3 or 4 hours a night for almost a week), and counter-acted some of my misgivings about reaching the top of the hill, I've still felt pretty uneasy about this chronological milestone.

It's not that I feel 40. Hell, I'm healthier than most of my friends who are a decade younger than I am—I'm in the best physical shape of my life, I don't look my age, and I can drink most of them under the table. And knowing my family's propensity for living a long time, there's a good chance I'm not even halfway through this journey.But, damn, the look I get when I tell people how old I am definitely slices deep. It's a combination of true shock, mixed with pity and just a soupcon of admiration. The "really?" is a not-so-subtle reminder that 40 is still considered by many to be "old."

Oh, and it didn't help my outlook this week when I was invited to complete a survey for "young adults" about my local community, only to be disqualified by the second question because the cutoff was 39. Honestly, I kind of felt like crying when it hit me that, 10 days earlier, I would have been a valid respondent.Everyone says numbers are meaningless, but 40 still has a mythic quality. I can feel it. And though my age doesn't seem to turn off the sweet, beautiful 20somethings in my life who still, for some unknown reason, want to throw in their lot with me, I can't help feeling a bit self-conscious when I'm with them and their friends.I'm not complaining. I am so crazy-lucky to have:

A soul-affirming, patient, adorable, brilliant, hilarious 7-year-old who calls me on my shit, but still looks to me as the one who will always be there for her.